As a consultant, I am often faced with an unfamiliar Linux system (usually RHEL). I always find it useful to understand which files that shipped with rpm packages have been modified, since it's usually a good indicator of what customizations have been performed on the system. To determine the modified files, I simply run:

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about a digital and analog circuit simulator called ksimus. One of my readers asked what the difference was between ksimus and ktechlab so I thought I'd take a look at ktechlab.

On Debian based systems, or any that use Synaptic for package management, you can use Synaptic to help you setup multiple systems with the same software. On the first system select all the packages you want and then under the File menu use Save Markings or Save Markings as to save your selections to a file.

To see the interrupts occurring on your system, run the command:

I've written quite a bit about using Linux to help educate people. In the past, I've discussed using Linux to teach astronomy, programming and computer logic design. So today, I'm writing about using the KDE Interactive Geometry (Kig) program to teach mathematics. Kig allows you to use various tools to diagram and demonstrate different mathematical concepts.

If you manage remote servers or if you have more than one computer you most likely have used the ssh command. A simple description of ssh is that it's a secure version of telnet, but that's like saying a Porsche is a just a better version of a Volkswagen bug.

More noteworthy items from the Linux audio world, including news about some long-awaited releases.

The following methods can be used for resetting the root password if the root password is unknown.

Problem: you're running your favorite application when you realize that there's a feature you want that is not yet implemented. You could write this feature yourself, but perhaps there is a similar application that has already implemented it for you.

Do you know what this sequence of characters "/-\|/-\|" is for? A text based spinner. Still confused, read on.